Every week, Executive Food Editor Keith Dresser pairs each main dish with a side to give you a complete, satisfying dinner without the guesswork. Look for the game plan section to learn tips on how to streamline your kitchen work so dinner comes together quicker.
Dinner This Week: Hearty Bean Stew
This week’s menus include Hearty Tuscan Bean Stew, Thai-Style Chicken with Basil, and Broiled Spice-Rubbed Snapper for dinner in about an hour
By Published Nov. 30, 2022
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Dinner 1: Tuscan Bean Stew and Garlic Bread
Game Plan: Preheat your oven and start preparing the stew. Once the stew is simmering, prep the garlic bread. Once the rosemary is added to the stew, bake the garlic bread.
Quick Hearty Tuscan Bean Stew is a simple, hearty, one-pot dinner fortified with garlic and rosemary. There are a couple of ingredients that can be substituted to suit what you have on hand. Pancetta may be traditional, but bacon is fine, as is Italian sausage. No cannellini beans? Most types of canned beans will work here; some of our favorites are great Northern, navy, and pinto. Parmesan and Asiago Cheese Garlic Bread starts with toasting the garlic, which helps to mellow its flavor. We like a 50:50 blend of Asiago and Parmesan, but feel free to use just one or the other or another hard grating cheese, like Pecorino Romano. A loaf of supermarket Italian bread, which has a soft, thin crust and a fine crumb, works best here.
Printable Shopping Lists: Tuscan Bean Stew and Garlic Bread
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Dinner 2: Thai-Style Chicken with Basil and Sautéed Baby Bok Choy
Game Plan: Prep the chicken through step 2. While the chicken stands, prep the bok choy through step 1. Cook the chicken, then wipe out the skillet and sauté the bok choy.
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Dinner 3: Broiled Spice-Rubbed Snapper and Quinoa Pilaf
Game Plan: Start by salting the fish. While the fish stands, toast the quinoa and then cook the pilaf. As the pilaf simmers, mix the spice paste for the fish, but don't broil it until the quinoa is fully cooked.
To maximize the flavor of the spices in Broiled Spice-Rubbed Snapper, we hydrate ancho chile powder, ground coriander, granulated garlic, dried oregano, and cayenne and black peppers in a couple tablespoons of boiling water to bring out their water-soluble flavors. Then we add oil, which, when heated, blooms the oil-soluble flavors. To develop nuttiness in our Quinoa Pilaf with Chipotle, Queso Fresco, and Peanuts, we toast the grains in a dry skillet before adding liquid. We then season the pilaf with boldly flavored chipotle chiles and cumin.
Printable Shopping Lists: Broiled Spice-Rubbed Snapper and Quinoa Pilaf
View more weeknight dinner ideas below, or check out all of the Dinner This Week menus.
- Dinner This Week: Pesto Calabrese
- Dinner This Week: Fried Rice
- Dinner This Week: Easy Mac & Cheese
- Dinner This Week: One-Hour Broiled Chicken
- Dinner This Week: Spaghetti with Fried Eggs
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Start Free TrialAbsolutely the best chicken ever, even the breast meat was moist! It's the only way I'll cook a whole chicken again. Simple, easy, quick, no mess - perfect every time. I've used both stainless steel and cast iron pans. great and easy technique for “roasted” chicken. I will say there were no pan juices, just fat in the skillet. Will add to the recipe rotation. Good for family and company dinners too. I've done this using a rimmed sheet pan instead of a skillet and put veggies and potatoes around the chicken for a one-pan meal. Broccoli gets nicely browned and yummy!
Absolutely the best chicken ever, even the breast meat was moist! It's the only way I'll cook a whole chicken again. Simple, easy, quick, no mess - perfect every time. I've used both stainless steel and cast iron pans. great and easy technique for “roasted” chicken. I will say there were no pan juices, just fat in the skillet. Will add to the recipe rotation. Good for family and company dinners too.
Amazed this recipe works out as well as it does. Would not have thought that the amount of time under the broiler would have produced a very juicy and favorable chicken with a very crispy crust. Used my 12" Lodge Cast Iron skillet (which can withstand 1000 degree temps to respond to those who wondered if it would work) and it turned out great. A "make again" as my family rates things. This is a great recipe, and I will definitely make it again. My butcher gladly butterflied the chicken for me, therefore I found it to be a fast and easy prep. I used my cast iron skillet- marvellous!
John, wasn't it just amazing chicken? So much better than your typical oven baked chicken and on par if not better than gas or even charcoal grilled. It gets that smokey charcoal tasted and overnight koshering definitely helps, something I do when time permits. First-time I've pierced a whole chicken minus the times I make jerk chicken on the grill. Yup, the cast iron was not an issue.